Applying for a job in a startup and applying for a job in a corporate, are qualitatively different things. Demands of both are different and the mindset you’d require to perform well at both of them is different.

If you have already decided to work for a startup despite all the hurdles that may await you on your way, here are a few tips about things to avoid saying and doing during your startup job interview process.

Using generic phrases

Phrases like fast learner, strategist, initiator of new initiatives will not work for a startup, at least not for a good one – A good startup will expect people who can communicate clearly what they have done and what past result and achievement makes them eligible in less than 140 characters. If you are still left with space to explain your personality, be my guest.

Jump straight to why can you deliver on that particular job they are advertising? Because you’ve done it before? Because you got the network? Because got the figures? Show them the figures.

“Managing” a team

No startup ever has use of managers people who hope to get things done delegating to others. In a startup everyone ships and there is no hierarchy but a flat hierarchy. Everyone is in the field and everyone delivers something at the end of the day – whether code, content, or customer support calls.

Saying how cool and necessary their startup is for the society

Even if that’s true no good startup will ever hire you for flattering.
The better way is to decide what specifically they are call about and address that particular need. For example – I saw your downloads getting to 10,000 in just 10 days, I can help it jump to a 1,000,000 in 30 days. Or your interface is so cool, I’d love to work on some extra things that will boost your conversion in another 3%.

See? Flatter + actionable in the same pitch

Being a “people” person

I don’t know why people use this so much, what exactly do they try to convey and what will it take to remove it from their dictionary. You say you are a people person who knows how to make it win-win for everyone? Well perfect, in other words you are a great salesman. In that case sell my product to someone in a way he is so happy and delighted with the value he gets for his money that he refers 10 more people to buy. That’s a real people person if you ask me.

Being remorseful about 9-5 jobs

This won’t get you selected, not only because it is cliché nowadays, but because no one works 9-5 anyways. Our smartphones and 3G have permanently taken that privilege from us. Therefore both, the average and the great performers work beyond 9-5 but the difference is what they deliver.

If you can’t showcase what you have achieved even within those hours, your rebellious mind will not sell you to the opportunity. It is not about the 9-5 job and it is not because you are forced to do the same thing every single day. It is rather because you are lazy and unwilling to challenge yourself. Contrary to what the folklore says, no company ever forces people to do the same thing or forbids them to innovate within their own context.

You are looking for more challenging role

No you don’t. Get to the point. Be honest, you will be appreciated for that and save many people’s valuable time. What you need is more money.

If you were looking more challenges you would have found some already. The world is not short of challenges. The very fact that you haven’t shipped or built anything in the past few years is a living proof that challenges is not what you are after. Cut the nonsense.

You have already failed in your own startup

Thank the startup folklore again for making it sound cool for people to brag that they have failed a startup, hence being more powerful and experienced as a result of it. That blog you were running? That doesn’t count as a startup unless you found way to monetize it.

What matters more to those who’d hire you is not the mere fact that you failed in your own startup but that you understand the nature of that failure and why exactly it failed. Demonstrating clarity around this will earn you extra points on your startup job’s application.

When you’re job searching, take some time to attend job fairs. You’ll have the opportunity to meet with employers that you might not be able to access any other way. Plus, job fairs and career expos often offer networking programs, resume reviews, and workshops for job seekers.

What can you do to compete with the crowds attending job fairs? These tips will help you get ready to attend and maximize your opportunities while you’re there.

Techmeetups.com | Tech Startup Job Fair Berlin

Tips for Attending a Job Fair

Dress for Success. Attend the job fair dressed for success in professional interview attire, and carry a portfolio. However, do wear comfortable shoes, because you will be standing in line.

Bring Supplies. Bring extra copies of your resume, pens, a notepad, and business cards with your name, your email address, and cell phone number. You might also want to consider bringing “mini resume” cards as an efficient way to sum up your candidacy.

Check Out Companies. Many job fairs and career expos have information on participating companies on the job fair web site. Be prepared to talk to hiring managers by checking out the company’s web site, mission, open positions, and general information before you go. If you demonstrate knowledge about each company or manager you’re talking to, you’ll certainly stand out from the crowd.

Arrive Early. Keep in mind that lines can be long, so arrive early – before the fair officially opens.

Attend a Workshop. If the job fair has workshops or seminars, attend them. In addition to getting job search advice, you’ll have more opportunities to network.

Network. While you are waiting in line, talk to others. You never know who might be able to help with your job search. Along the same lines, remember to stay polite and professional. Even if you’re feeling discouraged in your job search, don’t vent to other fair-goers about your situation or about any specific companies. Stay positive and make the most of the opportunity!

Show Initiative. Shake hands and introduce yourself to recruiters when you reach the table. Demonstrate your interest in the company and their job opportunities.

Be Enthusiastic. Employer surveys identify one of the most important personal attributes candidates can bring to a new position as enthusiasm. This means that employers want to see you smile!

Ask Questions. Have some questions ready for the company representatives. The more you engage them, the better impression you’ll make.

Collect Business Cards. Collect business cards, so you have the contact information for the people you have spoken with.

Take Notes. It’s hard to keep track when you’re meeting with multiple employers in a busy environment. Jot down notes on the back of the business cards you have collected or on your notepad, so you have a reminder of who you spoke to about what.

Say Thank You. Take the time to send a brief follow up thank you note or email to the company representatives you met at the job fair. It’s a good way to reiterate your interest in the company and to remind company representatives that you’re a strong candidate.

If you’re looking for a job in 2014 you might want to check out LinkedIn and other social recruiting platforms. According to a new study 2 out of 3 companies will use social media to recruit new workers in 2014.

Mention online recruitment and different things come to mind. Job boards, for example, with their CV databases. LinkedIn and other social media.

Mention online recruitment to an executive recruitment company, and reactions are mixed: “Online doesn’t work for senior executives.”

“Job boards are rubbish.”

“Someday LinkedIn will be how everyone gets hired.”

“There’s no substitute for face-to-face.”

Online recruitment has indeed produced a revolution in how people look for jobs, and how companies hire them. Not even 20 years ago, CVs were distributed by fax or post, and job advertising existed in only a few types of printed media – daily newspapers, and business and trade journals.

Today, most executive recruitment firms would struggle to deal with a hard-copy CV. Print advertising is in long-term decline and social media waging war with the job boards to decide which will dominate and survive.

Ever since the mid 1990s, when the first job boards came online, some observers have predicted the demise of the recruitment industry. If employers and prospective employees can connect directly and easily, what role would the recruiter play? That “disintermediation”, however, never happened.

What happened was the recruitment industry became expert in the use of job boards and adopted them as their own, as a way to provide a faster and more cost-effective service to clients. One leading UK executive job board reports 90% of its adverts are posted by recruitment agencies on behalf of their clients, rather than by the clients themselves.

The same predictions, and the same dynamics, are now at work in social media, particularly with respect to LinkedIn, the business/professional networking site. We see, in turn, the same adoption of social recruitment by agencies looking to improve their service to clients. While LinkedIn initially focused its recruitment offerings on direct employers, but more recently (following the money) has rolled out platforms and products specifically for the recruitment industry.

Executives Online’s ‘21st Century Recruitment’, published earlier this year, surveyed 1,200 managers and executives across the UK and continental Europe to discover companies’ preferences, tools and methods for identifying senior talent, and compared their answers to those given six years earlier.

Learn how job seekers are increasingly using social media to look for their next job — and get ideas how to use it yourself to fill your next vacancy. Jobvite collected data from from all over the web and put together this infographic.